Battle of the Sexes: Who Blogs it Better?

Have you ever thought about whether people consider whether you’re male or female as they’re reading your blogs? Or if people can guess your gender without reading your byline?

Have you ever wondered if it actually matters?

Recently a friend of mine sent me a link to a analyzer called the “Gender Guesser”.

The idea is that you copy and paste a sample of your writing into the
analyzer (about 300 words), and it guesses your gender just by your
writing style!

So off I went in to my latest post on Spokal and did a quick copy and paste on the first few paragraphs there.

And my results? Male.

Hmm… Not quite.

But I know what you’re thinking: Perhaps it’s because my writing with Spokal is all about data, research and marketing. Maybe it’s the topic that’s throwing the analyzer off!

Well, I thought of that too.

And while the website clearly states that there is usually no change in results with different writing samples from the same author, I thought it best to be thorough. So I went over to my personal blog and grabbed a sample from there.

The results?

I was still deemed as “male”.

But the Gender Guesser does only claim to be 60 – 70% accurate, so it’s far from foolproof.

But the whole thing got me thinking: What exactly are the difference in writing that makes someone appear male or female? What about my writing style is male?

And, most importantly… Does it really matter?

Gender in Writing

When it comes to being a writer, the simple answer is that gender matters.

Studies have found that men are much more likely to read a book by a male author than they are by a female author. And publishers are quick to encourage new female writers to take a pseudonym if their particular genre of writing is considered “masculine”. As Penguin editor Anne Sowards told the Wall Street Journal:

“It sometimes makes sense for a female author to use a pseudonym, particularly when the main characters are male, or when it’s a genre with a strong appeal to men, like military science fiction, certain types of fantasy or gritty thrillers. When we think a book will appeal to male readers, we want everything about the book to say that-the cover, the copy and, yes, the author’s name.”

Gender in the Workplace

Issues regarding gender equality are, of course, extremely important. It becomes even more important when we consider the wrokplace, an aspect of our day-to-day lives that is notoriously sexist.

When I started teaching second-level education a few years ago, the gender gap was discussed openly and it was a widely known fact that about 80% of teachers were female, while 80% of principals were male.

So even though I was working in a female dominated profession, men were in charge, which has created a phenonmenon often named the “glass ceiling”.

There’s always been a battle concerning gender in the workplace for as long as I can remember.

On the other hand, Tannen refers to a male’s use of language as “report-talk” and based primarily around information. Male bloggers reflect this trend in their chosen blog topics it appears, as men are more likely to write opinion or information-based blogs relating to topics such as politics or interesting internet sites.

Men use more articles (a, an, the) in their language. This is due to their preferred topics also, which have a tendency to be about concrete objects that are apart from themselves. These conversations demand the use of concrete nouns, which in turn, typically demands that the speaker use articles.

In general, the research has suggested that men are “more avid consumers than women of online information,” while women are more concerned with online community and conversations.

Differences in Link Building Between the Genders

Male bloggers receive more inbound links than their female counterparts: An issue that has been floating around in the blogosphere for a while, because, of course: Having more links to your website makes your website more popular.

Conclusion

Men and women have different ways of communicating, and this is evident in writing styles. With regards to gender in blogging, men seem to be information-driven, while women are socially-driven.

However, both male and female bloggers have their own individual difficulties to overcome depending on their topics of choice, style of writing and ambition.

While there are differences between the writing styles when we consider gender in blogging, I am confident when I say that the blogosphere (in general) is relatively free of sexism.

And if anything, it’s women that are taking the lead when it comes to blogging.

Please note that I have used the terms male/female (biological sex) and man/woman (socialized gender) interchangeably in this post. This is due to the resources which were used to inform the post that often don’t differentiate between the two terms.

However, in the interest of inclusivity, I would like to state that they are separate and different terms that are not always one and the same.

I also realize that much of this post is written from the POV of cisgender individuals, but for those who do not conform to these binaries, I encourage you to place yourself in whatever category that you feel most comfortable in, or to negate categorizing yourself at all and enjoy the post for its more general insights.

It seems that in today’s world, there are far more female bloggers, and they tend to have larger audiences, primarily composed of female readers that need their dose of feels and instructions on what to think. Most of the blogs that I read tend to be written by male bloggers, and they are blogs about how to get things done (to be fair, there are a handful of female writers in my feeds, but they make up a smaller percentage).

http://www.getspokal.com/ Sarah Burke

Well, if I’m one of those small number of female writers that you’re reading, then I’m glad.
I’m not sure if I’d agree that female bloggers and female readers are searching to be told “what to think” though. I would say it’s largely about socializing for women, and to connect with one another – Something that a lot of the above research that I’ve cited has clearly shown.
Personally, I would say I’m a mixed bag, depending on what I’m currently reading/researching etc.,,Like I said in the above blog, certain topics are very much dominated by one sex or the other, so if you’re in a technical industry (or just information-based industry in general) then it’s no surprise that you’re reading from predominantly male bloggers.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

http://www.leapfroggr.com/ Dennis Seymour

Hey Sarah. Just wanted to say that I enjoyed this and I appreciate the time you took to research this. 🙂 Sharing this out on Twitter.

http://www.getspokal.com/ Sarah Burke

Hi Dennis!
Thanks so much for reading and sharing the piece! It’s very much appreciated! 🙂

http://www.unveiltheweb.com/ UnveiltheWeb

Hi Sarah,

Based on your research I would tend to say that you article may appeal much more to men than women, lol…

When it comes to blogging, I don’t think gender matters. I have met an incredible amount of amazing female bloggers who really know their stuff and growing because of their blogging like crazy.

What your report does for me is validate that we need to learn each others language needs and communicate to both.

Building community is extremely important. I admit, women are better at it than guys. Data information is important and generally men are better at compiling and understanding them than women.

I have learned that it’s not one for the other, but we need both! Society, businesses, homes are incomplete without the strengths and weaknesses of both genders.

Personally, I work hard at trying to be both socially and information driven. It’s been fun learning how to do this over the last six months and it’s amazing that my audience is nearly split in half from male to female readers, engagers and clients.

I really, really appreciated this article Sarah. Well done and thank you for a much needed discussion!

~ Don Purdum

http://www.getspokal.com/ Sarah Burke

Hi Don,
I agree completely with what you said, that gender doesn’t matter when it comes to blogging. Female or male, it doesn’t make any difference and it seems that data backs up this assertion too!
It’s great that you try for balance when it comes to social / information, as do I. I believe that a well-rounded person is equal parts masculine and feminine.
Thanks so much for reading and engaging in the discussion!

Chris Mack

Don – what a great comment! We DO need both. I just wish I had half of Sarah’s blogging talent 🙂

http://www.unveiltheweb.com/ UnveiltheWeb

Thank you Chris. Yes we do and we short change ourselves when we don’t have both. She is a good blogger and I’m looking forward to reading more. If you want to be a great blogger Chris, you can. It all starts in your mind my friend!

http://www.irissignals.com/ Kostas Chiotis

Some interesting stats here Sarah. I think it is clear that for the most part men and women do have different styles etc, but for me personally I will read content that is well written regardless of the author’s gender. It seems silly to me for people to actively choose a book by a man!

http://www.getspokal.com/ Sarah Burke

Agreed Kostas! I think men and women write differently, but equally – which is great.
I don’t think many believe that it actually happens – but it does! I used to work in a bookstore and on more than one occasion I had male costumers come back to return a book because they realized it was a female author after they had bought it. You’d think we’d be past it by now, but some people are still stuck in their ways I guess!

http://www.shadeofinfo.com/blog/ Andrew M. Warner

Hey Sarah,
Great post.
I would be surprised at all to hear that women are better at blogging at men. I can say that for a fact they probably are. I mean, for myself, within the past 4 months, I’ve been influenced by probably 10 people and 7 of them are women.
I just think the styles are different. I don’t think that any one is any better or any worse than the next … just all unique in their own way.
– Andrew

http://www.getspokal.com/ Sarah Burke

Hi Andrew!
That is absolutely fantastic, I love to hear that people are influenced by women, definitely a positive thing! 🙂
Good luck with the writing! And thanks so much for leaving a comment!